


Eventually Must Be Earned

by fishfingersandjellybabies



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-08
Packaged: 2019-07-28 00:02:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16230035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fishfingersandjellybabies/pseuds/fishfingersandjellybabies
Summary: It’s always a hard thing to cope with, your brother getting shot in the head.





	Eventually Must Be Earned

**Author's Note:**

> This is all just based on panels I saw, as I have no plans to read Batman 55 like...I don’t know, ever. Gonna have a spiritual sequel in like, ten minutes. [Here it is :3](http://fishfingersandjellybabies.tumblr.com/post/178843623457/eventually-is-always-too-late-fic)

It was no surprise how quickly Damian appeared after Bruce contacted him. After all, Dick was his big brother. His first mentor. His closest confidant. His favorite Batman.

(And Bruce was _not_ bitter about any of that. Absolutely not.)

What _was_ the surprise were the remaining brothers who flanked behind him as he stomped into the cave. More for the fact they were with him at all, not so much the almost blank look on their faces.

Bruce stepped towards him. “Damian-”

“Move.” Damian demanded furiously, in a tone he rarely took with anyone anymore. Guess that was kind of a surprise too.

Bruce frowned, tried to get into his path. “Damian.”

“I said _move_.” Damian hissed viciously. “I’m taking custody.”

“ _Custody_? Of who?” Bruce tilted his head, glanced over his shoulder towards the medbay. “Of _Dick_?”

“Obviously.” Damian huffed. “Since you clearly can’t care for him like he deserves. I’ve already contacted lawyers to draw up the paperwork.”

“That’s…Damian, that’s not how it works.” Bruce tried gently. “Besides, I don’t think you’re old enough to-”

“I don’t care.” Damian suddenly yelled, hands balling into fists. “I don’t _care_ what you say or what you think! I’m sick of Grayson getting hurt. I’m sick of Grayson almost dying. And most of all I’m sick of him doing this all for _you_.”

“That’s not what happened.” Bruce almost growled. “If I’d known, you know I would _never_ -”

“I don’t care. I don’t _care_.” Damian repeated, fists growing tighter. “Every time he’s near you, he gets hurt. Every time he goes on a mission for you, someone tries to kill him. I’m _sick_ of it. I…” Damian glanced away. First towards the ground, then towards where Dick lay. “I’m sick of _you_. And I…” Another pause, like he was trying to stop himself. But he was too upset, too emotional. About to burst. “I wish you’d never come back to life.”

Bruce didn’t respond to that. His face was emotionless. But they could all hear his heart breaking, even before Damian harshly, quietly, said:

“I wish you’d just stayed _dead_.”

Bruce glanced back towards his older sons. Neither were looking at them, their gazes lowered. Bruce had a feeling they knew Damian was going to say that. Or maybe…maybe they felt a little bit of the same.

“He was fine without you. I protected him _fine_ _without you_.” Damian’s voice broke, just slightly. “For all those _years_.”

Bruce tried not to take it personally. Tried to reach out to hold Damian’s shoulder. “Son…”

Damian moved away. Bypassed the hand and dashed towards the medbay, where Dick laid motionless. “Stay away from me. Stay away from _him_. He’s under _my_ care now and until further notice, and I don’t want you anywhere near him. If you ignore that order, I will fight you, and I will defeat you, by _any_ means necessary.”

He scurried away, then. Ignored the eyes he knew was watching him as he dragged a chair up to Dick’s bedside and gently took his big brother’s limp hand in both of his.

Bruce watched him until he heard someone step up behind him.

“…He doesn’t know, does he?” Jason murmured. “He doesn’t know Dick isn’t going to remember him.”

“I wanted to tell him that part in person.” Bruce whispered. “So I could help him through it. I…didn’t want him to think he had to go through it alone.”

“You two act like that’ll stop him.” Tim hummed. “Dick could hate him and he’d stay by his side.”

“I just…” Bruce sighed. “I just didn’t want this to hurt him. Not like last time. Or like when he thought Dick was dead.”

“When _you_ _let_ him think Dick was dead.” Jason reminded, the bitterness clear.

“Too late, regardless.” Tim drawled. “It’s already _destroyed_ him.” He paused, gave a sigh of his own. “I don’t think he meant what he said, B. I don’t think he really wishes you stayed…gone. He _loves_ you.”

“Maybe.” Bruce murmured, glancing back to the gurney. Damian’s head was bowed now, pressed to the hands encompassing Dick’s, like he was praying. “But not as much as him.”

“An unfair comparison.” Jason shot back, but not maliciously. Not really. “Look – you and Dick taught him to be a hero. Step up for the little guys, the ones who need it. Right now, he thinks that’s Dick.”

“Which it is.” Tim added. “Dick was the one shot. Not you.”

Bruce looked back. “Do you agree with Damian, then?”

Tim held his gaze, but Bruce could see the anger in them. “I don’t agree with anybody here.”

“Well you sure aren’t _disagreeing_ either.” Jason mumbled. Tim just glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Jason shrugged. “Just saying.”

“He loves you.” Tim reiterated, looking back to Bruce. “He’s just upset right now. Give him time, he’ll let you help him eventually.”

Bruce looked back to the gurney. Damian had laid his head on the gurney mattress now, staring at their joined hands. There were tiny tears appearing in the corners of his tired eyes, and Bruce knew he’d rather die than let himself shed them.

He also saw the knife hilt barely appearing out of his son’s waistband, and knew that his other boys hadn’t seen it. Didn’t think Damian had a weapon on him in his normal clothes, at least not consciously. But Bruce saw it. And Bruce knew.

 _“If you ignore that order, I will fight you, and I will defeat you, by_ any _means necessary.”_

Damian was serious. Damian would fight him for Dick. He’d _kill_ him for Dick.

( _That’s how he died in the first place,_ Bruce didn’t let himself think. Not for too long. _He was trying to kill the Heretic for going after Dick_.)

He lifted his eyes to look at Dick. The bandage wrapped around his head. The machines and needles all stabbing into his skin. His closed eyes that he feared may not open again. The slow breaths that could very easily stop. The memories that they knew from his brief time awake he didn’t have anymore.

Damian hated him, for this. He may love his father, but he hated him for this. His words were not just that of an upset thirteen-year-old. They were deep, and they were true. So true he didn’t even have to say the word out loud for it to be heard.

Damian hated him.

(And really, Bruce hated himself for this too.)

And once Damian learned the true consequences of Dick’s injury, he’d hate him even more.

…Eventually, Tim said. Damian would forgive him and let him help him eventually.

And Bruce couldn’t help but have this fear, this deep-seeded gut feeling, that eventually may never come.

Not this time.


End file.
